Feeding of webs or strips of flexible material



Jan. 26, 1960 J. w. CHALMERS El'AL 2,922,342

FEEDING OF WEBS OR s'nups OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL Filed Sept. 11, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR W-(; HALMERs Wm 4, M w w A T TOIZNE Y5 Jan. 26, 1960 J. w. CHALMERS ETAL 2,922,342

FEEDING 0F WEBS OR STRIPS OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL Filed Sept. 11, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.3.

lNl/EN7DR U'oun \MC HALMERS W2 3 MWV-Wafix/ ATTORNEYS Jan. 26, 1960 J. w. CHALMERS El'AL 2,922,342

FEEDING OF WEBS OR STRIPS OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL ,Eiled Sept. 11, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet a INVENTOR Joan W. CHALMERS WM M, WW

A 7'TORNE K5 1960 J. w. CHALMERS ETAL $922,342

FEEDING 0F WEBSYQR STRIPS 0F FLEXIBLE MATERIAL Filed Sept. 11, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR QHALMERS BY Wm M, MF-Mv ATTokA/Exi United States Patent M FEEDING OF WEBS OR STRIPS OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL John Walker Chalmers and Donald Richard Patrick Jackson, Deptford, London, England, assignors to Molins Machine Company Limited, Deptford, London, England, a British company Application September 11, 1956, Serial No. 609,291

Claims priority, application Great Britain September 16, 1955 16 Claims. (Cl. 93-1) This invention concerns improvements in or relating to the feeding of webs or strips of flexible material, e.g. in wrapping apparatus, and, in particular, the feeding of two such webs or strips in superimposed relationship.

In the wrapping of articles such as batches of.cigarettes, it is sometimes desired to superimpose a strip of material (for example cellulosic material such as that known under the registered trade-mark cellophane) on a web of metallic foil or other suitable material for wrap ping about a batch of cigarettes. The superimposed strip may be required to act, in the finished package, as a lifting strip by which one or more cigarettes can be pulled partly out of the package for easy access. Or it may be required as a tear strip to facilitate tearing of an outer wrapper. In any such case it is sometimes desired that the superimposed strip shall extend beyond an edge of the material over which it lies.

According to the present invention there is provided a method of feeding two Webs or strips of flexible material superimposed one on the other, comprising the step of feeding one of said webs or strips at a faster speed that that of the other, while guiding the two webs or strips to travel lengthwise in superimposed relationship, whereby the leading end of the first said strip or web will extend beyond the leading edge of the other.

Further according to the invention there ,is provided a method of feeding a web of flexible material in superimposed relationship, with a' strip of flexible material narrower than said web, comprising the steps of gripping the said web and strip between opposed feeding surfaces, andreleasing the said strip from the grip of said surfaces and. feeding it' faster than the said web, while continuing to grip the' said web. The faster feed of the said strip may be eflectedfor a desired period, whereafter the strip is again gripped between the said surfaces and fed at the same speed as the web in contact therewith.

The method may include causing adhesion between parts at least of those portions of the web and strip which are fed in contact with each other by the said surfaces. The method may further include cutting the superimposed web and strip between adhering portions and at times when the web and strip are being fed at the same speed, so as to produce sections each comprising a piece of said web and a longer piece of said strip superimposed upon and partly secured to said piece of the web.

Each said section may be wrapped about a batch of cigarettes to form a wrapper in which the strip is looped about the ends of some of the cigarettes and in which one end of the strip extends beyond an edge of the wrapper while the other end is secured to the wrapper. Alternatively each said section may be wrapped about an article to form an outer wrapping for the article, the strip lying between the article and the outer wrapping and extending beyond one edge of the latter for use as atearing strip to facilitate removal of the wrapper. Q "Still further according to the invention there is provided apparatus for forming composite wrapper blanks, comshowing-driving and other mechanism;

2,922,342 v Patented Jan.:26, 1960 prising means to feed a first web lengthwise, means to feed a second web lengthwise in superimposed relation-' ship with the first web and at a faster speed than the first Web, and means to cut the webs at intervals so as to produce blanks each comprising two superimpose portions, one of which is longer than the other.

Still further according to the invention there is provided apparatus for feeding a web of flexible material and a strip of flexible material, narrower than said web, in superimposed relationship, said apparatus comprising a pair of opposed rollers to grip the web and the strip between them, one of said rollers having a part arranged to engage only the web and a displaceable part arranged to engage only the strip, said displaceable part being capable of movement away from the other roller to allow the strip to be fed between it and the said other roller at a faster speed than that of the web. The said displaceable part may be movable into cooperation with a further roller so as to grip the said strip and feed it to- Wards the web at increased speed.

Means may be provided to cause adhesion between parts at least of those portions of the web and strip which are fed in contact with each other by the said rollers. Cutting means may be provided to cut the superimposed web and strip between adhering portions and at times when the web and strip are being fed at the same speed, so as to produce sections each comprising a piece of said web and a longer piece of said strip superimposed upon and partly secured to said piece of the web.

Still further according to the invention there is provided apparatus for feeding a web of flexible material and a strip of flexible material, narrower than the web, in superimposed relationship, said apparatus comprising a feeding roller and a composite roller opposed thereto, said composite roller comprising a part freely rotatable about a fixed axis and having a surface arranged to engage only the web, and a displaceable part which has a surface arranged to engage only the strip, and which is freely rotatable about an axis that is displaceable so as to bring said striprengaging surface into and out of gripping relaat times to be gripped thereby and fed towards the web' at a faster speed than the web, and at other times to be gripped between the first said roller and the said displaceable part and fed at the same speed'as' the web and pressed against the latter. The said composite roller may be mounted on a shaft which has an eccentric portion about which the said displaceable part of the roller is rotatable, whereby the shaft can be turned in order to displace the said eccentric portion.

Apparatus in accordance with the invention will now be described by Way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is an end view of feed rollers for feeding a web of metallic foil and a narrow strip of material in superimposed relationship; 1

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figurel, but showing one of the parts in a different position;

Figure 3 is a plan view, partly in section, line III III, Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an end view corresponding to Figure taken on the l, but

Figure 5 is a plan of Figure t;

Figure 6 diagrammatically illustrates one form of wrapping for cigarettes comprising a lifting strip;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the wrapping illustrated in Figure 6; and

Figure 8 shows an outer wrapper provided with a tearing strip.

Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3, a web 1 of foil, for example metallic foil reinforced with paper, is fed downwardly from a reel (not shown) between opposed feeding rollers 2 and 3 which are equal in diameter and have opposed surfaces of rubber or other suitable material for gripping the foil. The roller 2 is positively driven, whereas the roller 3 is freely mounted and can be rotated by the roller 2.

The roller 3 is a composite roller consisting of two spaced sections 3a and 3b, with a narrow roller 4, of larger diameter than that of the sections 3a and 3b, arranged between the latter. The sections 3a and 3b are loosely mounted on a shaft 5, which is provided with an eccentric part 6 on which the narrow roller 4 is loosely mounted.

A further narrow roller 7 is mounted above the roller 4-, and is positively driven at a faster peripheral speed than that of the roller 2. The roller 7 is also faced with rubber or the like, and is arranged for cooperation at certain times with the roller 4 to grip and feed a narrow strip 8 of material such as that known under the registered trademark cellophane. At other times this strip 8 passes freely between the rollers 4 and 7 and is gripped between the rollers 4 and 2, as will be explained.

eans, shortly to be described, are provided for altering the angular position of the shaft 5 in such a way as to bring the roller 4 into engagement at one time with the roller 2 and at another time with the roller 7. Figure 1 shows the roller 4 cooperating with the roller 2, and clear of the roller 7. In Figure 2, the shaft 5 has been turned so as to bring the roller 4 into gripping cooperation with the roller 7 and clear of the roller 2. Thus according to the angular position of the shaft 5, the strip 8 is gripped either between the rollers 4 and 2 or between the rollers 4 and 7. i

V The strip 8 is fed from a suitable reel, not shown.

A cutting device 9, Figure 4, is arranged at intervals to cut the composite web consisting of the web 1 and strip 8 which are fed in superimposed relationship downwardly from the roller 2 and the rollers 3 and 4. The cutting device, which will be referred to in more detail later is suitably timed to cut off desired lengths of the web 1.

The driving mechanism for the various rollers is illustrated in Figures 4 and 5. The roller 2 is fixed on a shaft 10 to which is fixed a gear 11, which meshes with an idler gear 12 which, in turn, meshes with a gear .13. The gear 13, which is of somewhat smaller diameter than the gear 11, is fixed on a shaft 14 on which is also fastened the roller 7. Thus the roller 7, which has the same diameter as the roller 2, is driven at a faster peripheral speed than the roller 2, as mentioned above.

The roller 3, as has already been stated, is rotated by the roller 2, and the roller 4 is rotated by either the roller 2 or the roller 7, according to the position of the shaft 5.

The shaft 14 is mounted in a bearing 15 supported by a bracket 16. A bracket 17 supports both ends of the shaft 5 for the rollers 3 and 4, and an extension 18 is fixed on the bracket 17 to hold a guide 19 for the strip 8.

Figures 4 and 5 also show the mechanism for altering the angular position of the shaft 5.

A short arm "20 is fixed on the end of the shaft 5, and a spring 21 extending from the arm 20 to a pin 22 fixed on the bracket 17 urges the shaft 5 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 4, so that the shaft is normally in the position shown in Figure 1that is, with the roller 4 away from the roller 7 but cooperating with the roller 2 to press the strip 8 against the web 1.

A further arm 23 clamped on the shaft 5 has formed thereon a flat ledge 24. This is so located as to be engageable by a segment 25 of a cam 26 which is loosely mounted on the shaft 10. Fixed to the cam 26 is a gear 27.

A compound gear comprising gear wheels 28 and 29 is rotated by the gear 11 meshing with the gear wheel 28, and the gear wheel 29 engages the gear 27 and thereby rotates the cam 26 in the direction shown by the arrow.

The gear wheel 28 is twice the diameter of the gear 11, while the gears 27 and 29 are of equal size, so that the gear 27, and consequently the cam 26, perform one revolution for every two revolutions of the gear 11 and roller 2.

The reason for this arrangement for driving the cam 26 is that, in order to have the rollers 2 and 3 of a convenient size, the diameters of these rollers are such that they turn through two revolutions while feeding that length of web which is desired for an individual wrapping. In other words, they perform two revolutions for each operation of the cutting device. Since the cam 26 is required to engage the ledge 24 once during the feeding of each such length, the arrangement just described is adopted.

On engagement of the ledge 24 by the segment 25 of the cam 26, the arm 23 is swung anti-clockwise as viewed in Figure 4, and the shaft 5 is thereby turned so as to swing the eccentric part 6 and the roller 4 into the position shown in Figure 2. In this position the roller 4 presses the strip 8 against the roller 7 and the strip is thus gripped between them. At the same time the roller 4 is swung away from the roller 2. The parts are held in this position as long as the segment 25 engages the ledge 24, after which the arm 23 is swung back by the spring 21 and the rollers are thus returned to the position shown in Figure 1.

The cutting device 9 referred to above is similar in construction and operation to the cutting device disclosed in US. patent specification No. 2,053,030 and comprises a knife blade 30 mounted on a vertical shaft 31 and arranged on rotation to cut the web against a fixed knife edge 32.

A suitable gumming device comprising a segmental gumming roller 38 (Figure 2) is arranged to apply adhesive along parts of the strip 8 as it approaches the rollers, and is timed to apply adhesive only to parts which will not be gripped between the rollers 4 and 7, so that no adhesive will touch the roller 7, but the gummed parts of the strip will be pressed by the roller 4 against the web 1.

The sequence of operations is as follows.

Assuming that the cutting device has just operated to cut off a length of web 1 and superimposed strip 8, the web and strip are fed downwardly by the roller 2 c0 operating with the rollers 3 and 4. This stage is illustrated in Figure 1,. The roller 4 is away from the roller 7 and the strip 8 is therefore fed together with and at the same speed as the web 1, the leading edges of the web and strip being together, but free from each other.

The segment 25 then moves against the ledge 24, as shown in Figure 4, and the shaft 5 is thus twisted anticlockwise. This swings the eccentric shaft 6 and the roller 4 into the position shown in Figure 2. In this position the roller 4 is clear of the roller 2, but cooperates with the roller 7 to grip the web 8. As the roller 4 is loosely mounted it will then rotate at the speed of the roller 7, which as noted above is faster than the roller 2. Accordingly the strip 8 is fed towards the web 1 at an increased speed, so that its leading edge advances beyond that of the web 1, as illustrated in Figure 2. The strip is able to move between the rollers 2 and 4 relatively to the web 1 because these rollers are 'at this time separated. a

After the segment 25 of the cam 26 has moved past the ledge 24, the arm 23 is swung back by the spring 21 and the shaft 5 is thus twisted clockwise as viewed in Figures 1, Z and 4, bringing the roller 4 back to the'position shown in Figure 1. duces the speed of the strip 8 to that of the web 1, and the web and strip are both gripped between the roller 2 and the rollers 3 and 4. Adhesive is applied to the strip at a position such that the gummed portion passes beneath and clear of the roller 7 after the roller 4 has swung away from it. Thus the gummed portion is pressed by the roller 4 against the web 1 and adheres to it. Just after the adhering parts have passed the cutting device 9, the latter operates to cut the superimposed Web and strip, and the cycle of operations is then repeated.

Each of thesecycles of operations produces a composite wrapper blank comprising a sheet of foil which This immediately reas to be easily grasped. In the figure, the fold 113 of the wrapper is shown lifted away from the face of the article upon which, in the completed wrapping, it is folded and secured. This is merely to enable thedis position of the tearing strip 111 to be more clearly seen.

has a narrow strip of material secured to it at one end and extending beyond its edge at the other end. This blank is then wrapped around a batch of cigarettes in such a way that the narrow strip lies on the inner side of the wrapping, and passes beneath the lower ends of two or more cigarettes, while the free end of the strip extends beyond an edge of the wrapper so as to be plainly visible and easily grasped. The purpose of gumming the strip to the web is to anchor one end of the strip to the inside of the wrapping so that in the completed package, when the free end is pulled the strip looped about some of the cigarettes will pull the latter upwardly.

One form of wrapping for a batch of cigarettes is shown diagrammatically in Figure 6 and in perspective in Figure 7. This particular form of wrapping (apart from the lifting strip) is as disclosed in U.S. patent specification No. 2,041,679. tion which envelopes thegreater part of the batch of cigarettes, and a removable part 101 which is intended to be discarded when the package is opened. In Figure 7 for clearness the part 101 is shown as having been removed. To agree with the references used in Figures 1-5, the foil of which the wrapping is formed is given the reference 1, and the lifting strip the reference 8. The lifting strip 8 lies within the foil 1 and is secured to it by adhesive at 100. The removable part 101 of the wrapping also has a strip 8 secured to its inner surface, but this is merely because the wrapping as a whole has been formed from a piece cut from the web 1, Figures 1 and 2, which has the strip 4 secured to it, this composite piece subsequently being subdivided to form the two separate portions of wrapping shown in Figures 6 and 7. It will be seen that in order to produce this wrapping the strip 8 must be gummed over a sufficient length to ensure that it is secured to the inner surface of the main part of the wrapping.

A short length 102 of the strip 8 extends from beneath the edge of the foil 1, and this length 102 lies between the top end faces of the cigarettes and the removable part 101 of the wrapping. When the part 101 is removed, the part 102 is plainly visible and easily grasped. It will be understood that the Wrapped batch of cigarettes shown in Figure 7 is intended to be enclosed in an outer box or other suitable container, the removable part 101 being at that end of the container which is to be opened.

It will further be understood that other forms of wrapping can be employed in which the free end of the lifting strip extends beyond an edge of the wrapping material so as to be easily grasped, the wrapper blank being formed in the manner described by advancing the strip relatively to the wrapping material'while they are being fed. a

Figure 8 shows an outer wrapper 110 (for example made of the material known under the registered trademark cellophane) wrapped around a blockshaped It consists of a main por- In practice the fold 113 lies against the said face, and the wrapper may be torn or broken, to facilitate its removal, by pulling on the extending portion 112 of the tearing strip. d

The wrapper and the tearing strip 112secured to it constitute a further example of composite wrappings which may be formedby means of the mechanism described above, the strip 111 being advanced relatively to the web from which the wrapper 110 is cut, in the same manner as has been described above with reference to the strip 8 and web 1, Figures 1-7.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A method of feeding a web of flexible material in superimposed relationship with a strip of flexible material narrower than said web, comprising the'steps of gripping the said web and strip between opposed feeding surfaces, and releasing the said strip from the grip of said surfaces and feeding it faster than the said web, while continuing to grip the said web.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the faster feed of the said strip is effected for a desired period, whereafter the strip is again gripped between the said surfaces and fed at-the same speed as the web in contact therewith. r

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, which method'includes causing adhesion between parts at least of those portions of the web and strip which are fed in contact with each other by the said surfaces.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3, which method in cludes cutting the superimposed web and strip between adhering portions and at times when the web and strip are being fed at the same speed, so as to produce sections each comprising a piece of said web and a longer piece of said strip superimposed upon and partly secured to said piece of the web.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein each said section is wrapped about a batch of cigarettes to form a wrapper in which the strip is looped about the ends of some of the cigarettes and in which one end of the strip extends beyond an edge of the wrapper while the other end is secured to the wrapper.

6. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein each said section is wrapped about an article to form an outer wrapping for the article, the strip lying between the article and the outer wrapping and extending beyond one edge of the latter for use as a tearing strip to facilitate removal of the wrapper.

7. Apparatus for feeding a web of flexible material and a strip of flexible material, narrower than said web, in superimposed relationship, said apparatus comprising a pair of opposed rollers to grip the web and the strip between them, one of said rollers having a part arranged to engage only the web and a displaceable part arranged to engage only the strip, said displaceable part being capable of movement away from the other roller to allow the strip to be fed between it and the said other roller at a faster speed than that of the web.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the said displaceable part is movable into cooperation with a further roller so as to grip the said strip and feed it towards the web at increased speed.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, comprising means to cause adhesion between parts at least of those portions of the web and strip which are fed in contact with each other by the said rollers.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, comprising cutting means to cutqthe superimposed web and strip between adhering portions and at times when the web and strip are being fed atthe same speed, so as to pro duce sections each comprising a piece of said web and a longer piece of said strip superimposed upon and part- 1y secured to said piece of the web.

11. Apparatus for feeding a web of flexible material and, a strip of flexible material, narrower than the web, in superimposed relationship, said apparatus comprising a feeding roller and a composite roller opposed thereto, said composite roller comprising apart freely rotatable about a fixed axis and having a surface arranged to engage only the web, and a displaceable part which has a surface arranged to engage only the strip, and which is freely rotatable about an axis that is displaceable so as to bring said strip-engaging surface into and out of gripping relationship with the first said roller.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, comprising a further roller arranged to rotate with a surface speed faster than that of the first said roller and located in register with the said displaceable part so as to be capable of cooperating with the said displaceable part whenlthe latter is moved away from the first said roller, and wherein the said strip is fed between the said further roller and the said displaceable part so as at times to be gripped thereby and fed towards the web at a faster speed than the web, and at other times to be gripped between the first said roller and the said displaceable part and fed at the same speed as the web and pressed against the latter.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the said composite roller is mounted on a shaft which has an eccentric portion about which the said displaceable part of the roller is rotatable, whereby the shaft can be turned in order to displace the said eccentric portion.

14. A method of superimposing one piece of flexible material on another, comprising the steps of feeding two 8 webs of material in continuously superimposed relationship, cutting the two webs transversely atintervals, and after each cutting operation accelerating one of the webs so as to cause its leading edge to extend beyond the leading edge of the other Web.

15. Apparatus for feeding two webs of material, one web being narrower than the other, comprising a feed roller, a second roller arranged to cooperate with part of said feed roller to grip and feed the wider of the two webs, a third roller capable of cooperating with another part of said feed roller to grip and feed the narrower of the two webs, and movable away from said other part, and means to feed the narrower web at a faster speed than the wider web when the said third roller is away from the said other part of the feed roller.

16. Web feeding apparatus comprising in combination a feed roller, a second roller cooperating with said feed roller to grip and feed a first Web, a shaft on which said second roller is freely rotatable, said shaft having an eccentric part, a third roller freely rotatable on said eccentric part so as to be bodily movable towards and away from the feed roller by angular movement of the shaft, means to feed a second web between the feed roller and the said third roller, and means to turn the said shaft so as to cause the said third roller alternately to move towards the feed roller to press the second web against the first Web, and to move away from the feed roller.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,144,265 Milmoe Jan. 17, 1939 2,265,609 Milmoe et al. Dec. 9, 1941 2,350,244 Malhiot May 30, 1944 2,415,117 Tamarin Feb. 4, 1947 2,475,052 Rosen July 5, 1949 2,494,965 Rosen Jan. 17, 1950 2,570,306 Battersby Oct. 9, 1951 

